Long way to go

This morning, after saying goodbye to people, I flew from Sucre to La Paz. Let´s just say that Bolivian domestic air travel security is...nonexistent. I never showed a passport, never had a bag searched, much less x-rayed. But I made it back safely to this wonderful city!

I was originally supposed to fly to Iquique, Chile tomorrow (Chicago Bears in the Superbowl! I must find a place to watch), but I love Bolivia so much that I decided to change my ticket to Wednesday. Bonus: no change fee. LAN Chile is a great airline. And now I have time to check out Lake Titicaca and Isle del Sol.

One of the reasons why I am glad to be back in La Paz is because of Carnival. In Potosi and Sucre, Catholicism is a lot more common, and young boys use Carnival as an excuse to bombard women with water balloons and water guns on an hourly basis. I got blasted at least once a day in those towns, which is ok when it´s hot, but it´s not always fun to be soaking wet at night at a high altitude. At least I never got hit with one that had the fabled food coloring or bleach in it. However, I haven´t seen a single water balloon attack in La Paz. I think it´s because the indigenous religions are stronger here, Catholicism has less of an influence.

It´s nice to be back in this enigmatic city, and nice to be travelling alone again. I´ll miss the group I was with, but it was time for me to head off anyway. Back to solo dinners spent reading and writing...at least I´ll get another book finished. I will miss having someone to watch my back, and my stuff.

I had the strangest dream the other morning: I was getting ready to fly to Iquique, and going through the contents of my bag. Everything that was in my bag in real life was in it in my dream. I don´t have that much stuff with me, so I know the contents by heart, and in dreams I guess. I remember being especially concerned for my passport, though in the end it was there and I got on the plane safely.